trem·ble

[trem-buhl] verb, trem·bled, trem·bling, noun
verb (used without object)
1.
to shake involuntarily with quick, short movements, as from fear, excitement, weakness, or cold; quake; quiver.
2.
to be troubled with fear or apprehension.
3.
(of things) to be affected with vibratory motion.
4.
to be tremulous, as light or sound: His voice trembled.
noun
5.
the act of trembling.
6.
a state or fit of trembling.
7.
trembles, (used with a singular verb)
a.
Pathology, milk sickness.
b.
Veterinary Pathology. a toxic condition of cattle and sheep caused by the eating of white snakeroot and characterized by muscular tremors.
00:10
Tremble is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.

Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English trem(b)len (v.) < Old French trembler < Vulgar Latin *tremulāre, derivative of Latin tremulus tremulous

trem·bling·ly, adverb
un·trem·bling, adjective
un·trem·bling·ly, adverb


1. shudder. See shake. 3. oscillate.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
tremble (ˈtrɛmbəl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to vibrate with short slight movements; quiver
2.  to shake involuntarily, as with cold or fear; shiver
3.  to experience fear or anxiety
 
n
4.  the act or an instance of trembling
 
[C14: from Old French trembler, from Medieval Latin tremulāre, from Latin tremulus quivering, from tremere to quake]
 
'trembling
 
adj
 
'tremblingly
 
adv
 
'trembly
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

tremble
c.1300, "shake from fear, cold, etc.," from O.Fr. trembler "tremble, fear" (11c.), from V.L. *tremulare (cf. It. tremolare, Sp. temblar), from L. tremulus "trembling, tremulous," from tremere "to tremble, shiver, quake," from PIE *trem- "to tremble" (cf. Gk. tremein "to shiver, tremble," Lith. trimu
"to chase away," O.C.S. treso "to shake," Goth. þramstei "grasshopper"). A native word for this was O.E. bifian. The noun is recorded from 1609.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Real or imagined, the fear of a chemical weapons drop that made easterners
  tremble has receded.
Whole spans of the orchestral and choral music tremble with textural density.
Playing for himself, he makes the opposition tremble in its spikes and put
  their sports psychologists on speed dial.
They shiver and tremble and act out to the awful imperatives of mental illness.
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